


Stranger Lay Beside Me

by conniptionns



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: CFO Andrew, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, blue collar Neil, white collar Andrew
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-05-09 14:25:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14717807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conniptionns/pseuds/conniptionns
Summary: Neil Josten had to drop out of high school when he mother died to take care of his two younger sisters: Laila and Dani. He's 26 and works two jobs, while looking for a third. His sisters want him to slow down and find someone to love him, but he's so busy that he doesn't have time to think about love.Andrew Minyard, 34, is the CFO of his parent's company, Walker Minyard. He's dealing with the loose ends that come with a big merger and the drama of a college-aged lover who wants more than he's willing to give. He doesn't want to find love. He's fine with his life that is a balance of work, hanging out with his sister, Renee, and ignoring his brother, Aaron.Andrew is enthralled by a blue-eyed man working in a shitty diner. He's snarky and doesn't put up with Andrew's shit the way all of his other lovers have. Neil isn't impressed by the dick with money to blow, and tells him just that.Andrew has it all and Neil's never wanted for more than he's had, but now Neil's something Andrew get can't easily get and Andrew's something Neil thought he would never need. Follow along for the ride as these two men find what they weren't looking for in one another.





	1. Come Live With Me And Be My Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [exybee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/exybee/gifts).



_I was bad, I was good_

_Running wild through the woods_

_While the branches above me were burning_

_I was breathing the smoke_

_I was starting to choke_

_When a stranger lay beside me_

* * *

 

“Mr. Minyard, you have a lunch meeting with your sister and her car has just arrived.”

The reminder came from his personal assistant, Ian. The young man had applied for the job as secretary to the CFO two years prior. Andrew was the Chief Financial Officer of Walker Minyard, a company that Andrew’s adoptive parents had started 45 years ago.

Ian was a bright young man with a penchant for planning, and with Andrew’s busy life, he was in dire need of an assistant. Ian was a gangly 25-year-old that had a massive unrequited crush on Andrew’s incredibly gay sister. He was also the only straight person Andrew genuinely liked.

The lunch meeting was with Renee. They were two-thirds of the notorious Walker-Minyard triplets that Stephanie Walker and Ryan Minyard had adopted years before. Triplets in name only, the three siblings all had the same wheat-colored hair and muddy, hazel eyes. Given that they were all the same age, the triplets thing had stuck.

Renee had taken their mother’s name, while Andrew and his brother took their father’s. Steph ran the company’s Marketing and Communications department and Ryan sat as CEO. Both were on the board, but Ryan preferred the big picture, while Stephanie lorded over the little people on the day-to-day. The company had capped salaries, so while the family net worth wasn’t in the billions, both Steph and Ryan had come from old money so they were up there.

Aaron was out of the country. He was affiliated with Doctors without Borders with his wife Katelyn. Both were examples of the straight people Andrew could hardly stand. Andrew heard from Aaron maybe once every other month. It wasn’t a big deal with them. Renee was another story altogether.

Renee Walker was the CEO of a nonprofit that their father had started in her name three years after she had been adopted. She had controlled every bit of the organization at 13, and at 34 not much had changed. She worked with businesses in places where youth were considered at risk. By applying to be a part of her organization, these companies could qualify for funds that had been donated by overpaid business people who shelled out millions to atone for their sins.

What Renee did was go in and help each business come up with a plan to keep them from being bought out by corporations that were trying to open a chain in their storefront. The goal was to keep these small businesses a safe place for teenagers to come and go without having to buy a $6 coffee to sit inside.

Renee loved every bit of what she did, but since her girlfriend had no sense for finances, it was Andrew that was dragged along to these initial meetings. He did it happily. Renee was the only person in the world he cared about besides his brother.

It also gave him something to rub in Allison’s face when he was invited over for dinner. Jokes about how a personal shopper should be better at managing other people’s money. They had a running feud that was, for the most part, full of love.

Andrew was never one to keep a beautiful woman waiting. He grabbed his suit jacket and the leather messenger bag Allison hadn’t been able to convince him had gone out of fashion since he was in high school.

Striding out the door, he nodded to Ian who coughed and gestured to a dyed, purple rose. Andrew snagged it off the edge of the desk with a roll of his eyes. Maybe it was time to bring Allison into the office to remodel and casually drop how in love she was in with Renee.

Andrew jogged down the stairs toward the ground floor before he thought better of it after getting down three floors. His office was on the 57th floor. If he wanted to subject himself to that he could go to the gum. The elevator was neat and bright with a fern in one corner. He was sure that one day he was going to walk into a full waiting room set up in the small space because each time he took the elevator it was slightly different.

This time, someone had put tinsel around the small tree and a garland along the ceiling. He put a reminder in his phone to bring decorations for other religions because that Christmas Bitch, Carol in Accounting was fun to rattle. The reminder was ‘Non-Denominational Holiday Wizard? Text Allison.’

There was quiet music playing and Andrew wondered what it meant. He found a lot of meaning in random chance and usually tried to fuck with himself by forcing meaning to come from the most mundane of things.

_And the moon rose again / And the snake shed its skin / Every hand in the city was shakin’ / We were kissed we were clawed / Given just to be robbed / ‘Cause we needed the love we were makin’ / I was present and gone / Said farewell and so long / Then came back ‘cause the street was too empty / I was nursin’ a bruise / I thought for sure it was you / When a stranger lay beside me_

“Hey Siri, remind me to find meaning in a stranger lying beside me.”

Andrew walked toward the street where town cars with tinted windows were lined up along the curb, waiting to pick up the pretentious elite for their lunch breaks. He didn’t have to worry about which one was for him because when he got within sight, his sister burst out and ran at him, stopping just short of engulfing him in a hug. She cocked her head for permission and he gave a curt nod, grateful that she always checked with him. And then he had an armful of over cheerful sister.

He hugged her tight. Renee smelled like honeysuckle and chemicals. Andrew turned up his nose, leaning far enough back to see that his towheaded sister now sported a shock of white hair dipped in an array of pastels at the ends. He rolled his eyes. She was always doing wild things with her appearance with shocking fanatical conviction.

“Hey bub,” Andrew said, fond, putting the purple flower behind her ear.

“Heya ugly, come on. I have an appointment at a tattoo parlor after our lunch, and is this from my wannabe lover?”

“Yep, Ian said to tell you he loves you.”

“He did not!”

“No, he didn’t.”

Andrew assumed that she was trying to send their father into early retirement. Ryan still served as CEO, insisting that the only person he trusted to take his place was his baby girl, but Renee had no desire to join the corporate world. Her attempt to look professional, while unappealing to their father’s world, did nothing to sway Ryan. He had the tendency to believe his daughter was infallible, regardless of the garish ways she tried to prove she was just human. Andrew would have to have a conversation with their father. Not that he minded that she was getting a tattoo, but something needed to give before she started tattooing her face.

“All right, I’m ready.”

“Good, I have the good champagne. I heard you just completed a corporate merger?”

“Well, I hardly did anything. I just spent three weeks living in the office because Kengo and Son have been doctoring their books for god knows how long, but they are now in business in name only. White collar crime is shit, Ren. They’ll never see a second of jail. At least the capped salary is enough to hurt them.”

Andrew gave a nasty laugh. He never understood the need to make 500 times the amount your lowest level employee made. All those rich sons of bitches now could only make a generous 1.38 million dollars a year, plus end of the year bonuses, and their near unbeatable incentives. He was sure that many of the higher-ups in the company would leave to work elsewhere, but he knew that just meant that Walker Minyard would have a position to fill that was vacated by Moriyama scum.

Renee gave him a gap-toothed grin. “I know how much work you put in Drew. Allison is such a shit sparring partner. She gets so hissy when I kick her.”

“Most women would, dumbass,” Andrew informed.

“Well, that’s beside the point. What happens in the ring stays in the ring. With Allison, it always comes into bed. How was I supposed to know it would break her nail. She wouldn’t have sex with me until it grew back!”

“Just let her get her nails done and be done with it.”

“I like how you think. I’ll text her right now. By the way, I was thinking of getting braces. Do you think they would annoy dad or would he just be glad that I’m ‘perfecting an already perfect smile’?”

“You are talking about our father, right? The latter.”

“Aww!” She left a smacking kiss on his cheek.

Andrew secretly thought that the drastic haircuts, the nose ring and the piercings that lined her ears, only served to make her more quirky and bright, illuminating her personality. Andrew did, however, have to admit that the dark purple lipstick was entirely repulsive to him, but that was mostly due to the fact that she had a knack of catching him unawares and he had gone into meetings with a purple lipstick kiss on his forehead more than once. He wiped at his cheek but it was futile. He didn’t know what they put in lipstick now, but aside from a pressure washer, nothing would get it off his face.

When Andrew climbed into the car behind her, their driver was off—following directions Renee had given him only minutes before so Andrew couldn’t try to guess their destination. Renee kept giving him that hideous hopeful look until he lifted his arm and let her snuggle against his side. She was still the only person he let touch him. She, Andrew and Aaron had spent 10 years in the foster system, and if Andrew thought the 7 years before he met Renee were bad for him… If she ever desired to seek comfort from him, far be it from he to deny her.

They made quiet conversation, mostly about Allison’s upcoming surprise party for her 31st birthday. Andrew suggested she make it Sex in the City themed and Renee continued talking over him, ignoring him entirely, except for a brutal flick to the nose.

Andrew mostly tuned her out. After their lunch, he had a 2 o’clock meeting with the company’s COO, and the stress of the day was already getting to him. The merger had been a breeze, except for the 100 hours of overtime he had put in, but apparently, there were people getting threats. He was certain that they were all empty, but Nicky was his cousin and it was too close to home to leave to the lawyers.

Apparently, a bogus email was used to blackmail him, threatening to out his boyfriend, Erik Klose, a kindergarten teacher in a prestigious preschool in the city. Andrew was certain that any scandal could be easily smoothed over, but they all lived in an imperfect world that would be bothered by a homosexual man teaching five-year-olds. Andrew was stressed and annoyed but the last thing he wanted was for Renee to think it had to do with her, so he drank two glasses of champagne and let the movement of the car and her voice lull him into a more relaxed state.

Right as they pulled up, Andrew shot a text to Roland, asking him to meet up for a late dinner and a nightcap. The instantaneous response was yes. Andrew rubbed the bridge of his nose, gearing up for another conversation where he would have to let Roland down gently enough that the other man would continue seeing Andrew.

Andrew shot off a text to Ian, asking him to order Roland’s favorite dinner with a tasteful wine. Expensive wine always endeared the younger man to him. He was being careless, the last thing he needed was the possibility of a sugar daddy scandal.

He glanced up and looked at the pathetic sign proclaiming: Eden’s, in faded neon-orange. This was going to be a long lunch.

He and Renee seated themselves in a booth with splits in the faux leather seats. The menus were laminated but looked like they had been soaking in a mud puddle in the rain for the past fifteen years. After the girl who looked too young to be legally working left to go get their drinks, Andrew murmured to Renee.

“You better make sure you have someone on your end of the deal managing the assets. An ambassador perhaps.”

Renee kicked him under the table before picking up her menu and glancing over it. She picked something out and stared at Andrew with one raised eyebrow that was penciled in and pierced with a demure stud that only served to accentuate her amusement.

“All right, all right. I’ll bite.”

Andrew picked up the menu by the very edge of the laminate, poring over it with disdain. He didn’t think anything edible could come out of the kitchen, but he would play along for the sake of Renee’s memory of the place.

A short, slender man brought their water with lemon and set them down just gently enough that they didn’t slosh over the sides. He had unruly auburn hair and the clearest blue eyes Andrew had ever seen. The man patted his pockets before excusing himself to walk off and berate whoever stole his pad and pen.

Andrew fished out his phone and sent a follow-up message to Ian. _Actually, don’t make the wine too nice._ If things went right, and they always did, Andrew wouldn’t have to worry about appeasing Roland.

Their server tiredly introduced himself as Neil. He glanced up at the expectant, waiting for them to order. That was when Andrew neatly stepped in it, setting Neil off.

“Is the kitchen cleaner than the dining area?” Andrew asked with contempt. Renee kicked him with her pointed toe heel, hitting a nerve and Andrew stomped on her shoes in reply.

“I’m not sure what you’re trying to suggest,” Neil began his tirade mildly. “I understand that it’s sort of a fad nowadays to ‘slum it’ and I don’t know what you expected when you got in your fancy little town car and drove past the point that you rich people tend to speak about in whispers, like you’ll catch cholera from the water if you step past a certain point, but surprise, the socioeconomic status of our clientele means that we can’t exactly afford to pay to have pretty menus embossed with gold flakes and printed on heavy parchment that doesn’t need laminating.

“I’m sorry if the dining area doesn’t live up to your standards, sir. I would be happy to box up whatever you order so that you can eat it from the bowels of the town car that you pay someone to drive.

“As I was saying, sir, miss, welcome to Eden’s. I’ll be your server, Neil. I’m ready to take your order whenever you’re ready, but if you need a few more minutes, I’ll head on over to the next table and give you two a few minutes to think or fuck off and escape.” Neil finished his tirade with an overly chipper smile and dramatically poised his pen over his little pad that was just a cheap spiral that could be bought for 10-cents at most stores.

“Neil, I apologize for my brother’s terrible manners. What he meant to say was, I am Renee Walker and I run a Nonprofit Organization that seeks to work with local businesses to keep them out of the reach of gentrification, using charitably donated funds to help update the business, while also staying true to the heart of the establishment. The owner, a Mr. David Wymack, submitted an application and it is customary that my brother and I come and enjoy each lovely establishment that applies to be a part of my city-wide ‘Give Back’ initiative.”

Neil stated at her, mostly unblinking, throughout her talking, so she took it as a cue to continue.

“You look a few years younger than me, so you might know that I spent a lot of my youth here while I was in the foster system. My name was Natalie Shields and it would mean the world to me to come back to the place that was my only stable home for the first ten years of my life, and enjoy a meal—with or without my brother.” She gave Andrew a sharp glance and he held up his hands in surrender.

“I would love it if I could get a chicken parmesan sandwich and beer battered fries. And if Abby is still making those brownies that are to die for, then I’m going to have to get two.”

Neil turned to Andrew, waiting to escape back to the kitchens to talk shit about him, Andrew was sure.

“My sister is right. I do apologize for my foul behavior. I would be happy to treat you to dinner tomorrow night as an apology.” Andrew ignored when Renee kicked him again. “And if you could recommend something that won’t sit heavy in my stomach, while I’m in a meeting after this, that would be wonderful.” Andrew finished it all off with a closed-mouth smile that was barely a twitch of his lips.

That had gone splendidly. He would be able to have his dinner with Roland and he would convince him not to get upset, and then he would bed Neil the next night and get the blue-eyed devil out of his system.

“I have work, but I have just the thing.” And then Neil disappeared into the kitchens.

“Do you have to attempt to fuck every attractive man we come across on our outings? I mean really, Andrew, at this point I know exactly who has and has not been in your bed.” Renee was pretending to be grouchy, and it would have worked if Andrew couldn’t see the smirk she was trying to hide. He rolled his eyes. Renee and her hell beast of a girlfriend were always trying to set him up with someone, wanting to see him settle down.

“He’s cute!” she squealed, smacking her hands on the table.

“I’ll give him my number. Are you happy now?” Andrew drawled lazily while he ripped the straw wrapper apart on the table.

“No, you have to leave it on the receipt! That is so much more romantic. We need to show him that you actually have a personality that exists outside of insults. Andrew, you need to woo the man!”

“Renee, I just want to bed him. It’s exactly like you said. I have no room in my life for a significant other and the baggage that they carry. Could you imagine me ever settling down?”

“Perish the thought,” Renee snorted before kicking Andrew again for good measure.

“Be careful or Aaron is going to take your spot as my favorite sibling,” Andrew threatened.

“Oh my god, as if that would ever happen. One, I’m too cute to ever be demoted in any part of my life. Second, you hate his wife and you at least tolerate Allison. Don’t even pretend to act like you don’t hate Katelyn, I can see it all over your face.”

“She hugged me when we first met!” Andrew mock yelled in indignation.

“Normal people do that, Andrew.” Renee rolled her eyes.

“I was actually just reading a forum about people who are touch repulsed, and it’s actually very common for people who had a traumatic injury in their past to become touch repulsed,” Andrew insisted before sticking out his tongue.

“Very mature. And while I’m sure that that’s true, you can’t hate the girl for not realizing that you had had a traumatic past. There was literally no way for her to have anticipated that. You know Aaron hates to talk about us. He loves to pretend he’s from a normal family, and you know that he’s going to do everything he can to make sure his family is as boring as ever.”

“Don’t remind me, and also, I can blame her. Who is she to touch someone without their individual consent? Did you have to tell Allison that I don’t like to be touched before she met me?”

“No, but—“

“My point exactly. Then there’s also the fact that she’s happier than any sane person should be.”

“Maybe she’s insane. She wouldn’t be the only one in this family.” That was something that he loved about Renee, she always met him blow for blow. “You’re having dinner with us tomorrow night. Come on, your little boy toy is playing hard to get. We can scheme and plot over lobster bisque and macaroni—you know it’s your favorite.”

“I’ll go on one condition,” Andrew said.

“Name it and it’s yours,” Renee replied.

“Sparring on Saturday?”

“Let me see if you can pencil me in.” She dramatically picked up her phone and tapped the screen, pretending to call someone. “Hello, Ian? Yes, this is Renee. I was wondering if Andrew was free two days from now from 12 noon to four that afternoon. Oh, he is? Wonderful. Please pencil me in. Yes, that’s Renee with two e’s on the end. Ciao, luv.”

“You are insufferable,” Andrew groaned into his hand. “He’s in love with you, you know that?”

“Oh my god, right? I think it’s adorable,” she said, touching the flower by her ear.

Fifteen more minutes of conversation and a man in his late forties came out with their food. He had tribal tattoos going up his arms and a closely shaved head. If anyone in this restaurant was a threat, it was this man. Andrew was instantly on alert, tracking his movements across the room towards them. When he stiffened, Renee sat up straight and turned around to find the source of his anxiety. When she caught sight of the man, she was up and running into his arms, leaving Andrew cursing and getting up to follow her.

“Coach!” Renee yelled throwing herself at the older man, wrapping her arms around his waist. He smiled down at her, holding their baskets of food up and away from her so as not to spill anything on her designer outfit. There would be hell if he did. That skirt and flowy blouse were designed by Allison Reynolds and if there was one thing you didn’t do when Allison made something, it was stain it.

“Natter bug,” the man said warmly. Andrew mouthed the reprehensible nickname and shuddered, when Andrew had met her, Renee was called The-Better-Natty-Lite by most of the other kids in the group home. It made sense that she had had worse nicknames before that one. If he was being honest, it wasn’t any worse than what she went by now: Renny C, for Renee Charlotte.

The man walked them back over to the table and he still towered over Renee in her six-inch heels. Renee was 4’9 on an especially humid day if you counted her hair. She said she wore heels so that her employees took her seriously, but Andrew was sure that it was just so she could say she was taller than him.

The man introduced himself to Andrew as the owner, David Wymack. He pulled up and chair and brought out his books to talk business while they ate. Andrew could appreciate his willingness to multi-task. David informed them that he allowed their server to take a 30-minute break to nap since he was working a double before going to his second job later that night, his offensively tall son, Kevin was going to be taking care of them—listening in when he could.

Andrew ate his grilled cheese and soup while they went over the debts, bills, and necessary upgrades the restaurant would need before they would be completely operational. David insisted that his restaurant be operational while the improvements were being made so that Eden’s was still a safe place for kids to get off the street and out of bad weather. David was frank about the fact that he employed some kids that had families to take care of and paid them under the table from his own pocket, but Andrew wasn’t surprised by that, he knew Renee had worked here before. It had taken years for David to consider applying to her Nonprofit, but it was something she never stopped insisting, wanting to give back to the place that kept her safe and, in part, made her who she was.

As they were finishing up their conversation, Neil walked over with brownies for both of them. His hair was sleep-mussed and Andrew wanted nothing more to get him into his bed. He wondered if it would be considered rude to ask him to get his hair trimmed and perhaps buy a new suit so Andrew could properly wine and dine him. He assumed that Neil wasn’t accustomed to accepting handouts.

Andrew was amused by the fact that all of the men he attempted to bed were always more than willing to take his money. Neil was interesting and Andrew wanted to know his story. He scratched out his number on the back of the receipt before picking up his heavy overcoat and heading out to the town car to make his 2 o’clock meeting with his cousin, and company’s COO, Nicky Hemmick. Neil would have to wait.


	2. And We Will All The Pleasures Prove

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early birthday present for me! (May 29th)
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

_Well hey little Hollywood_  
_You're gone but you're not forgotten_  
_You got the cash but your credit's no good_  
_You flipped the script and you shot the plot_  
_I remember I remember when the neon used to burn so bright and pink_  
_Saturday night kind of pink!_

* * *

Neil was cleaning off Andrew’s table, muttering about jackasses with nice teeth, when his sister flounced out of the upstairs apartment. Laila was Neil’s younger sister by seven years, and, at seventeen, she was twice as smart and twice as pretty. She was wearing a bleach-stained shirt that proclaimed her ‘fucking majestic’ and Neil had to roll his eyes.

Laila was dual enrolled at the local community college and worked as a barista on campus. She was in Wymack’s apartment because she cleaned it on her hour and a half lunch break before work. A bone of contention between her and Neil was that Neil wouldn’t let her drop out of school, like he did, to help more with the bills.

She, as usual, didn’t give a shit about what Neil had to say and had made it so she could finish high school and college faster. To top it off, she was working two jobs. She was actually the source of all his stress.

He was sure she was coming over to bug him about something. No doubt. But one she-demon wasn’t the worst of his problems. There was also their fourteen-year-old sister Danielle. His sisters and his jobs were the only things that Neil cared about—well, them and paying his bills on time.

Neil had dropped out of school at sixteen when their mother died so that he could work and take care of his sisters full time; they were nine and six at the time. When Laila was old enough to watch Dani after school, Neil went back to get his GED, so now he was a high school dropout with a GED that worked as a waiter during the day and a bouncer at night. The bouncer job was sort of a joke, or at least he was seen as one. Not many people want to be thrown out of a club by a man that stands at five foot three and still wears his hair in a floppy mop of curls that makes him look fifteen, but they always find out that Neil is a force to be reckoned with.

Laila snagged Neil around the waist and dropped all of her weight, making him reach out to grab the edge of a table to steady them.

“Get the fuck off me,” Neil grouched, playful.

“Stop you loooooove me,” Laila said, attempting to pull him down farther.

“A little kid just pissed on the floor where you’re about to lay down.”

That got her up. “Oh my god, what? You’re joking right?”

“Yeah. Yes! Okay, uncle, yes, I was joking. Please stop pinching me, you demon sent from hell to torment me.”

“Aw, it’s like you love me or something,” Laila joked, flopping down into the booth and resting the heel of her heat up sneakers in Neil’s pocket.

“You’re going to pull off my pants like you did last week and the little old lady from two doors down isn’t here to scream at me today.” Neil stuck out his tongue at his sister before pushing her over and sliding into the booth beside her.

“So tell me, O Great and Wise College Student, what is the word on the street.” Neil splayed his hands in a beseeching manner. He wondered if it had to do with Dani.

It turned out that was what she was actually what Laila was coming over to talk to him about.

“I will have you know that I have saved up just enough money to pay for Dani to take that CPR class.” Laila was preening.

Danielle had been trying to become a babysitter since she turned thirteen, but all of the higher paying customers wanted her to be CPR certified and they just hadn’t been able to afford it.

“Shut up! She’s been wanting this forever.” Neil was ecstatic.

“Yeah, well. I know that since rent has gone up things have been tight around here and since you won’t let me drop out—”

“You’re never dropping out,” Neil interrupted.

“—Since I’m never dropping out. I figured that I could save up some cash and do this for you. And before you ask, because I know you will, no, I did not take on any extra hours. You know I’m already at the maximum and my manager won’t let me have anymore. Said they would have to make me full time and of course they don’t want to do that. Bah! Whatever. Anyway, I didn’t buy the book for my history class. I’ve been ‘tutoring’ this kid and using his book to study.”

“So fiscally responsible,” Neil sighed. “But you shouldn't be wasting your money on this. I’ve been looking for a third job and—”

“Stop it right there. If you can get a third job, I can drop out.”

“Laila, you’re not dropping out. You need a fancy college degree job so you can get a nice apartment and a car. You could have a car!”

Neil didn’t have a car and hoofing it everywhere got sweaty, especially during summer. At least it was winter, which meant that he just had to combat frostbite when he walked to work. Fuck nature.

“Oh my god, Neil, you’re such a drama queen. I’ll stay in school, but once I get my job, I’m paying for Dani to go to school and then we’ve already decided that we’re sending you into early retirement. I swear to god when we were brushing our teeth in the bathroom this morning, I saw a gray hair on your head. You’re not even twenty-five, Neil Abram Josten.”

“Laila Dermott!” Wymack yelled from across the restaurant.

“Shit, that’s the boss. Laila, will you wait until I’m home to tell Dani? I know this is exciting, I just want to see her face,” Neil asked before they stood up and went back to work for the rest of the day.

“Yeah, I’ll wait. When do you get off at ET?”

Wymack had come up and put her in a headlock, but she was speaking pretty well for being choked.

“Four on the dot. I’m not closing tonight, so I should be home around 4:15?”

“Okay, I have class at 7. How about this. Dani and I will come into your room after your shower and then I’ll get everything ready for the day and you can sleep in?”

Neil nodded, fully intending to turn off her earlier alarms when he got home the next morning.  
She ran into the back to change into something more suitable for work. Neil guessed the customers didn’t want to know how fucking majestic she was.

Wymack ambled over. “Hey, there are only a couple more hours, and I got a girl who got herself up the duff who was wondering if she could pick up a few of your hours today. I’ll still pay you, but you can’t be on the books and you gotta be in the office.”

Neil winced. The only thing worse than working a double was having a double taken away from you.

“Who is she?”

“Thea Muldani. She’s neighborhood.”

“That girl Kevin has been chasing? He do this to her?”

Wymack laughed. “He wishes. He doesn’t know about it. She came crying to me just an hour ago. She can’t afford the first doctor visit.”

As long as she was neighborhood, Neil wouldn’t bitch too much. Besides, he couldn’t turn up his nose at off the books money.

It wasn’t until he was putting in the tips from the credit card customers that Neil found Andrew’s number. When he paperclipped them all together and tossed them in the box in Wymack’s desk drawer, he saw the scribbles on the back of one. He pulled it out of the stack and frowned at the 10-digit number that was scrawled under the initials: AJM.  
He flipped the receipt around and made the connection. The rude as fuck businessman with the nice teeth had left Neil his number.

Frankly, Neil was surprised that the man hadn’t left a business card, or maybe even a laminated one—Neil didn’t really know what sort of business cards rich pricks carried.  
Text me and I’ll take you out.

The only thing Neil wanted to be taken out was the trash. He snorted and threw the receipts back in the box before slamming the drawer. He had to be at Eden’s Twilight in 90 minutes, he didn’t have the time to worry about random men. There was a reason Neil didn’t swing.

He turned off the lights downstairs before heading up to knock out on Wymack’s couch. Kevin would kill him if he was late to work at his shit club.

Time outside Eden’s Twilight always ticked by sluggishly.

It didn’t help that Neil was a sleepy sack of shit. After the first couple hours, he felt like he hadn’t napped at all during the day. Working the door was one of the more boring jobs, and you didn’t make any tips throughout the night. All you got from drunk patrons was possibly spit on when you kicked them out of the club. The only interesting part of the job was when people got drunk as shit and needed hauling out. But usually, by hour three, Neil was the one in need of hauling, with how sleepy he was.

Though, the reminder of it all being for his girls was usually enough to keep Neil going. That and the quadruple shot of espresso he got in his coffee, much to the horror of the girl on the night shift at the local cafe.

One of the bartenders came out the door before the close, so Neil perked up, expecting being told that there was an unruly customer. It was Roland, the college asshole that Neil hated.

“I’m heading out,” Roland teased.

“Oh?” Neil asked. He didn’t care but Roland always liked when you pretended you did.  
“Yeah, I think my boyfriend is going to propose tonight. We don’t usually make plans for our anniversary, but this year he has!”

“That’s amazing,” Neil droned.

“I’m not going to let you tear down my high,” Roland said.

“Of course not, I wouldn’t want to do that,” Neil said.

“It must suck to not be able to leave your shift early like me,” Roland said and Neil wanted to punch his teeth in but then he continued. “I told everyone that you could have my tips tonight. I’m about to be a kept man. I’ve made a decent amount. Talk to Kevin before you leave.”

He made $100 in tips that night and he almost cried.

Neil stumbled home around four and made it to the couch before he fell over. The springs dug into his back, cruel and unforgiving, but at that point, it felt more like a deep tissue massage. He told himself that he would just rest his eyes and work up the energy to go and turn off Laila’s earlier alarm.

He woke up to Adele serenading him. Rolling in the Deep was blaring from Laila’s phone and Neil rolled off the couch in his panic. Who wants to wake up thinking a British woman broke into your apartment to sing?

When the noise was cut off, Neil almost immediately passed back out on the floor. He didn’t wake up again until the soft sounds of his sisters getting ready filtered into his sleep. For a while, he dreamt that he was doing his morning chores. Getting them ready for school, but it wasn’t until he had a dream of going to the toilet that he really woke up.

The dream was always so real, but once he realized that he was in the bathroom of his childhood home, he woke up in a panic. His brain was an evil piece of shit that tried to lure him in comfortably, then fuck him over once he was there. What an apt metaphor for every other aspect of his life.

Neil walked into the bathroom with his eyes closed, trying to get a few more minutes of shut-eye. His sisters were at the sink trying to put on makeup. Dani had just discovered eyeliner and really loved it if the thick rings around her eyes were any indication. He stumbled into the toilet and shut the door on their singing and bickering to perform his morning ablutions. Hello, it’s me. Adele was back.

Neil flushed the toilet and shouldered the girls out of the way to wash his hands and brush his teeth.

“There’s no toothpaste left,” Laila said, apologetic.

Neil gave a long-suffering sigh and pulled out a pocket knife. He slit the tube of toothpaste open down the side and folded it back to find the remnants of minty freshness. He ran his toothbrush through it, hoping to get enough to get the fuzzy taste of sleep out of his mouth. It wasn’t.

He opened the bottle of Listerine and stuck his toothbrush down in it to swirl it around in the purple liquid, much to his sisters’ chagrin. He was finally able to scrub the cotton-feeling out of his mouth and he pulled crumpled dollar bills out of his pocket and put them on the counter, asking that someone pick up toothpaste.

“‘m too tired to make breakfast,” Neil mumbled around his toothbrush.

“That’s fine. I think we have some toaster pastries,” Laila replied.

“My lunch account is empty and there’s nothing to carry in today,” Dani said.

“Can you eat the lunch they’ll provide you? My direct deposit doesn’t hit until tomorrow,” Laila said.

“She’s not eating a slice of bread and a piece of cheese. We’re broke, not poor,” Neil grumbled, fishing more dollars out of his pocket.

“I’m sorry, you guys know I’m trying to get work,” Dani said with tears in her eyes.

Neil dropped both hands to her bony shoulders. “Baby, I know you are. I forgot to pay your account. This is my fault, not yours, you need to eat and I’m going to make sure you eat.”

“About the job thing, Dani, I have some news for you,” Laila cut in, handing her sister a makeup wipe to clean up the black tear trails that were running down her face.

Neil gave Laila a blank look until he remembered: CPR class.

“Yeah?” Dani sniffed.

“I got some extra cash lying around, and it just so happens to be exactly enough for you to get CPR certified.”

Dani’s scream was ear-shattering and Neil winced, happy to hear her so excited.

“They have a class this weekend at the YWCA!”

“Yes, they do. And, I also got you a ride. A kid in my Accounting 2 class has to take his sister to swim lessons this weekend and I asked if he would be willing to give you a ride,” Laila said.

“Laila, I could have gotten her there. I don’t like the idea of you asking for handouts.”

“Neil, I didn’t ask you. Seth is annoying but he has a crush on me. You’re not the only one that can take care of us, you know? I do a lot for this family, too. Even with the stupid rules, you have for me that makes it harder. What were you going to do? Carry her on your back? None of us have a car.”

“Guys, please don’t fight. I hate it when you fight.”

“I’m not fighting,” Laila insisted, in a tone that implied she had definitely been fighting and wasn’t quite done.

“You kind of were,” Neil said.

“Fuck off, Neil. If you want me to fight with you I will.”

“I’m too tired to fight with you right now, Laila Marie.”

“So what? You want to put off the fight until later?” Laila asked, miffed.

“I don’t know what I want,” Neil said.

Dani reached out and slapped both of them full in the face. “If you want to act like fucking children, the actual fucking child will treat you like one. Makeup, now.”

Neil and Laila mumbled half-hearted apologies at one another.

“Neil, I know how much you do for this family. Laila does, too, she just likes to be a bitch first thing in the morning. You don’t need to egg her on. You’re just tired, so if you don’t quit it, I’ll send you to bed with no breakfast.

“Laila, I know that you do so much and you would do more if you can, but Neil has a point, getting an associate's and going on to get a bachelor's is only going to help you. Be grateful instead of pissy. I know you wanted five more minutes of sleep, but so does everyone else and the world will go on.”

Both Neil and Laila looked appropriately chastised.

Neil ruffled Dani’s hair. “You’re so mature, baby.”

“She really is,” Laila agreed. “You’re better than all of us put together kid. I was wrong to go off, Neil. It wasn’t a handout though. I might be taking advantage of him, but what are men for if not for taking advantage of?”

Neil laughed and pulled both of his sisters into a hug. “As a man, I feel like I should be offended, but it was wrong of me to yell at you. You do help me so much.”

  
“Speaking of men, what is this I hear about your attractive guest at the diner?” Laila was needling and Neil didn’t want to accommodate her, but he never could resist the whims of his sisters.

“There was a man,” Neil confirmed, “But as for his looks, I hardly noticed since he was talking down to me at every turn.”

Laila ignored the pessimism and moved on. “Kevin told me all about it. Said Wymack was giving you shit about someone leaving a number for you on the back of their receipt?”

That was when Dani decided to butt in. “Neil Abram Josten, do you mean to tell me that you have a suitor and he didn’t come calling on your family first?”

  
“You two will be the end of me,” Neil groaned. He ran and tackled the two of them onto the couch. “It doesn't matter who came or left what. He was a dick.”

“Baby child,” Laila cooed. “He was a rich dick,” she said as if that were going to explain everything.

“So what?” Neil asked, pulling himself up to a sitting position between his sisters on the couch.

“So, you milk him for all he’s worth. At least make him take you out to dinner.”

“Laila Marie Dermott, are you suggesting that I pimp myself out to him?”

“No! I’m just saying that you deserve a man to treat you right. I know you’re not interested in any of the girls that hang around you. Dani and I just wanted to let you know that we support you, no matter who you want to date.”

Neil blushed. “It’s not that I’m not interested in girls, it’s that I’m not...interested.” He said it like he was asking a question. “Look, that’s not even on my radar right now. I just don’t swing. You two are the only people I care about. I don’t care how rich or pretty they are, I don’t have it in me to care about a third person.”

Laila snuggled up under one arm and Danielle the other. “We just want you to know that we love you so much,” Laila started.

“Neil, we don’t want you to think that we want you to sacrifice your happiness for us. Laila told me you’re looking for a third job.” Danielle was worried.

“All I want is you two fed, warm and happy—in school, Miss Dermott, you too Miss Wilds. You’re both in the home stretch. I’m only twenty-four! I don’t need to sign away my immortal soul just yet, let me have my time with the two of you. Drop it for now, for me?”

“We’ll drop it.” Both girls agreed.

“I know I said we’d drop it, but all I want out of a third job is to make it so things aren’t as tight. I want Laila to have her money to do things. Dani, with your new babysitting gig, I want you saving money, too. Let me get you through school and after that, you guys can do whatever you want, and I’ll work just enough to keep you both safe.”

“God, you’re such a martyr, Neil,” Laila scoffed, squeezing him tightly.

“I love you too, Leels. You too, Dani.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm trying my best to make these deadlines and get these out for you all! 
> 
> Thanks for the love and support!
> 
> See ya Sunday!


	3. That Valleys, Groves, Hills, and Fields

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm updating early for three reasons:
> 
> 1\. I just had a really good interview and I'm feelin hype  
> 2\. Today is the only day that I will have my brother's laptop and mine is having trouble. If I exited out of sims 4 for once in my life it might start working again, but why would I do that? lmao  
> 3\. THIS HAS OVER 100 SUBSCRIPTIONS, SURPASSING THE ORIGINAL!
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is shorter than normal and the reason is twofold: I got like 6 comments on the last chapter, it kind of bummed me out on my birthday and this was really fucking hard to write lmao

_Sister, my sister_  
_What should I do?_  
_Should I wade in that river?_  
_With so many people living just_  
_Just above the waterline?_

* * *

Andrew strode into his closet, yanking his tie loose and hanging up his jacket. He was tense and frustrated from the day’s work. The meeting with Nicky hadn’t gone well, but then again, they usually didn’t. Nicky loved to talk about his boyfriend Erik, a preschool teacher at an upscale private school. Andrew was never particularly interested in hearing about whatever snot-nosed kid story Nicky had to tell when they were supposed to be conducting business. The absence of those stories, however, was difficult.

Nicky had gotten the threat in his inbox just two days prior. Most of the board thought they were on top of it, Ryan included, but Andrew knew just how serious an allegation like this was. The Moriyamas had already lost their company, the legal action they were going to have to deal with there was already a nightmare. What was blackmail against extortion, laundering, etc.? Andrew thought it was nothing. He knew that the higher ups wouldn’t go down. They were too clean for that. Their lackeys were going to take the fall for the company, and Kengo and Ichirou would sit pretty in their high castle, while Tetsuji and Riko were raked over the judicial coals.

Andrew knew that neither Kengo nor Ichirou would have had to do with the threat. They were too smart for that. They were businessmen first, and if Andrew were in their place, he would sit and wait for the scandal to pass; slowly accruing more and more stock options, either himself or through other channels.

The whole meeting was shit. He was going to have to go to Japan himself and take care of things.

Andrew felt bad, but he had only pretended to listen. He sat there patient while Nicky tearfully talked about how Erik was all he had, thinking of striking blue eyes and the most beautiful face Andrew had ever seen.

He had been thinking about the smart-mouthed server all day. Even when he was having a nice dinner with Roland, all he could think about were those damn blue eyes.

Roland was lying in his bed right now. Andrew had conveniently forgotten to have the conversation with Roland about not getting his hopes up. He would have to do it at breakfast, the man was disgustingly besotted with Andrew.

He stripped quickly and put his clothes into the appropriate laundry baskets.

Naked, he leaned against the door to his closet and closed his eyes, relishing in the feel of the cool wood. He picked up his glass of wine. The rich claret wasn’t his preferred drink, but it was Roland’s favorite and typically made him softer with Andrew.

Andrew had been ignoring the tightening in his gut since he first locked eyes with the waiter from lunch, allowing the tingling under his skin to build until it was almost impossible not to give it attention. He dropped one had to his balls and rolled them in his fingers, enjoying the feeling that came over him. With his other hand he jacked his cock slowly, closing his eyes and thinking about blue eyes. Anticipation of what could be.

There were flashes of images behind his mind’s eye: Neil panting beneath him, his arms, sinuous and taught, restrained behind him. He wondered how Neil would look in a spider gag as he fucked into his mouth.

Neil wouldn’t easily relinquish control, but after a little bit of play, he would happily submit for Andrew, and he would do it so beautifully. He would step towards Neil, pausing just for a moment to take in wide, black pupils before he leaned in to kiss him. Right before their lips touched, Neil’s breath would hitch.

He would be pliant under Andrew’s hands, mouth open, welcoming Andrew to taste and explore, their bodies slotting together perfectly. Neil’s cock would brush against Andrew’s belly, but Andrew wouldn’t touch him except to bend down to nip at his tanned hips. Andrew wanted his mouth on Neil’s dick. He wondered if Neil would be circumcised—it was a wild thought that Andrew immediately tamped down. Andrew didn’t fantasize about men like this. Andrew simply bedded them and moved on. If he wished to fuck them again, he just did. There was no longing or pining, as Andrew had time for neither.

Andrew groaned a little as he let go of his cock. Why jerk off to a fantasy when there was someone who wanted him lying in his bed, fifteen steps away? Neil would text within the next day or two and then Andrew would stop daydreaming of blue eyes.

He downed the rest of his wine.

“Fuck, are you that hard for me?”

Andrew’s erection almost flagged when he saw the blond sprawled out on his bed, but he rallied because he’s a goddamn champ. The _yeah_ got stuck in his throat and he just hoped that Roland thought it was arousal, not whatever weird feeling was swirling around in his gut.

* * *

Andrew swore when Renee landed a hit to the tender spot in his side. There was a bruise there from where Roland had hit him with a book two nights before. When Andrew had walked out of his bathroom, Roland was on the phone with his mother whispering about how he thought Andrew was going to propose. Andrew was immediately livid. He had made the mistake of offering to let the younger man stay the night, hoping to further forget Neil, but he realized that that was a colossal mistake. Simple idiots like Roland weren’t good with change. In an adapt or die situation, they died.

Andrew didn’t make it a habit to start fights while he was naked. It left too many important places exposed and vulnerable, but he wasn’t about to take the time to get dressed to kick Roland out of his house. There were three things Andrew couldn’t abide: bar food, his personal life intermingling with the lives of people he hooked up with, and people making threats against his person. Roland was three for three, given that he was a barkeep at some shit club called Eden’s Twilight or some other such bullshit. Andrew had been putting off his visit there, thinking it would give Roland the wrong idea, but he was glad to come to the realization that he never had to go there.

_Andrew finished his nightly ablutions and wondered what it would be like to sleep next to a warm body. A small part of him craved that sort of contact with another person, but he also knew how dangerous it was to let someone in like that. If Andrew was going to be reckless, he might as well go for broke. It might have been the post-coitus haze that had made him do it, but after he pulled out, he told Roland that he could stay the night if he liked. The one stipulation was that it had to be on the small couch underneath the windows because Andrew couldn’t sleep with other people in his bed._

_Roland had agreed quickly and Andrew tried not to read too much into it—he deserved this god damn it. He padded out of the bedroom to see Roland sitting on the makeshift couch-bed he had made up with Andrew’s extra sheets, he was whispering into his phone and Andrew was immediately annoyed. Roland was exactly the type of teeny bopper little frat boy that Andrew absolutely hated, but he was so desperate for Andrew, the way he gave up his body so freely was magnificent. Seeing Roland on the phone reminded Andrew just how annoying he was, which was an incredible amount actually._

_Roland was whispering into the phone, excited, and Andrew felt a brief moment of disgust when he realized that Roland called someone after they had sex...to talk about Andrew in one of the more vulnerable positions he ever let himself be in. He was always fully in control, but to even let anyone in his home was practically suicide. Considering Andrew’s upbringing._

_It wasn’t until Andrew remembered that he was in his thirties and could fuck whoever he wanted that he relaxed. He let the fear be replaced by mild annoyance. He was about to send Roland out of the room while he finished his call, when what was being said finally filtered in past the initial rage._

_“Yes, mom. I told you he was going to propose by the end of the year! It’s our one year anniversary, and you know how he never does anything serious? Well he had me over for the most romantic dinner ever and not to shock you, but we made_ love _. He asked me to stay over and he never does that—you know how traditional he can be. But I really do think that the ring is in this room. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulled it out before bed. OR! Maybe over breakfast, that would be so romantic, don’t you think? Anyway, I haven’t heard him in the bathroom for a minute so I’m sure he’s coming out soon, I have to go. I love you. Bye.”_

_Roland hadn’t seen him yet. He hadn’t seen Andrew, which was a feat in itself because Andrew was standing in front of the light filtering into the dark room from the bathroom. Of course, Roland wouldn’t have seen the pure, unadulterated rage on Andrew’s face, because Andrew’s face was in the shadow._

_He was infuriated. Andrew absolutely, one hundred percent, did not do anything serious. The only reason he had strung Roland along this long was because the man was convenient. Surely if a body is merely convenient you certainly wouldn’t make_ love _to them._

_His pulse was racing, frenetic, but his voice was deadly calm._

_"Get the fuck out.”_

The book had been a bound collection of Chaucer’s complete works—a gift from Stephanie. It clipped Andrew’s side hard enough to leave a discoloration.

_“Did you just fucking throw that at me?”_

_“No.” It was a pathetic whine._

_“It was a rhetorical question, you absolute motherfucker. Get out of my goddamn house.”_

_“No, I want to talk about this!”_

_Andrew laughed, an ugly thing. “You lost the right to conversation when you decided to brutalize me.”_

_"If you want me out, you’ll have to put your hands on me,” Roland threatened._

Andrew did what any sane person would do. He called his bodyguard to come kick Roland out, while Andrew stood at the top of the stairs wrapped in a black sheet that matched his armbands.

_Good riddance._

Renee thought the whole story was hilarious, and Andrew couldn’t prove it, but he was highly suspicious that she was aiming for his side every time she saw him leave himself open.

That was something he liked about her. No matter how sweet she seemed, she was always willing to make a dirty hit. It reminded him of their time in the group home together, learning to protect themselves and each other. Even though they had both turned their lives around, they were still the same scrappy kids on the inside.

That was why he liked Renee more than he did Aaron, or perhaps that was because Aaron liked to blow smoke out his ass and always had. Aaron was a kiss ass and had been since infancy. It was why Aaron always got his way.

The night before, Andrew had had dinner with Renee and Allison where he had the misfortune of his crush on the blue-eyed waiter aired to the world. The world being just Allison but she couldn’t keep her mouth shut so it might as well have been.

Stephanie had called him after dinner asking when she would get to meet this ‘nice young man’ Andrew had a thing for. That was making Andrew go in for the cheap shots today. He was certain that by the end of the sparring session, he and Renee would have more bruised skin than not.

Even though they liked to give each other hell, Renee was the only person that Andrew would have talked to about the situation. It was convenient that she had been there to get an eye witness’ take on the exchange and not have to work on a secondary account. They were discussing it between hits.

They had always been extremely frank about their sex lives. Both not trusting any other person enough to be willing to divulge that kind of information. At first it had grossed him out a little big (he didn’t like the idea of hearing about who was banging his sister), but, in the end, he realized that he would rather have all the information, and be able to stop a harmful relationship before it could turn south.

Renee was teasing him about Neil. Andrew could count on one hand how many times he had been turned down in his entire life and that was only because of Neil. What made it worse was the fact that Neil wasn’t anything special. He was just some waiter at a shit diner. He had no right to be so interesting. Renee thought the effect he had on Andrew was hilarious and was ribbing him.

“Okay, but the real question is,” Renee started as they sat slumped against one another’s shoulders after their sparring match, “Are you going to go back to the diner?”

Andrew swore because he already knew the answer to that and he hated himself for it.

“Yes.”

Renee laughed a deep belly laugh. “I thought so, you never did know how to quiet when something was out of your reach, short stack.”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “You’re shorter than me, but enough about me, how is your contract with Eden’s going?”

“Why? Do you want to know if another business lunch is on the horizon?”

She had him figured out.

“If so, I’m sorry to say that Wymack and I have pretty much everything squared away. He’s letting me have a lot of leeway with design. He trusts that I’ll be true to the heart of Eden’s. You’ll be able to take your business trip to Japan with no worries.”

“I’m happy for you, Ren.” And he really was. Neil was something interesting, something to keep him awake in between meetings with morally repugnant men, but when it came right down to it, the only thing Andrew really cared about was his family.

“I know you are, and I also know that you’re going to worry anyway.”

“It’s a shit situation. What should have been a simple merger is all fucked up. Genuinely, the biggest clusterfuck of my career, and it’s not like I can say fuck it. That would destroy Nicky.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't see you guys for another two weeks! I don't think there's another holiday coming up that would warrant me updating early. Until then, I have a couple fics for you to read ofc
> 
>  **[fear in a handful of dust](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7725364)** by **[flybbfly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flybbfly/pseuds/flybbfly)** \- In which Neil doesn't have Kevin Day to convince him to play, so he becomes a sports journalist; Andrew is a keeper in more ways than one; and Quidditch is the sport du jour. Featuring a frankensteined team, eternal roommate Matt, and hawkish sports section editor Dan. Oh, and Andrew has a shady past (present? future?) that Neil can't quite figure out. But that's nothing new for Neil, who is constantly hiding everything about himself anyway—this time with magical abilities greasing the way.
> 
>  **[Sugar](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12750873)** by **[mishaschmidt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mishaschmidt/pseuds/mishaschmidt)** \- Neil would always remember the first day he saw Mr. Minyard, fondly known as The Day Neil Josten’s World Was Pleasantly Rocked By Realising He Had The Most Gorgeous Lecturer On Campus.
> 
> Be Nice To Me. Thank You.


	4. Woods, Or Steepy Mountain Yields

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My computer broke. I fell into a deep depression. I got a new computer. I finished Baltimore from Andrew's POV. and now here I am. Yeehaw

_Every night when I lay you down, lay you down to sleep_

_You know I’m thanking the lord for blessing you with hockey teeth_

* * *

There was a warm, solid presence was lying against Neil’s back when he woke up. Turning slowly, so as not to jostle the bed, he wrapped an arm around his sleeping sister and pulled her to his chest, nose twitching at the itch of her hair tickling him. Whenever she got in late, Laila always chose to crash in Neil’s room, not wanting to wake up their sister.

Laila’s hair was a mess of dark curls that she wore piled on her head, not liking the feel of it on her neck. She had their mother’s hair, matching it down to the stubborn snarl it tied itself into regularly. That’s where the similarities ended. She had her father’s Roman nose and wide lips that stretched into a grin so wide that Nei thought it could swallow the whole of the world’s sadness, and unlike Neil, she had her father’s skin tone, a dark olive that complimented her Mediterranean features perfectly. Neil looked pasty against her rich complexion—Neil could thank his Polish father and English mother for that. Laila’s dark eyes were the most beguiling part of her, with two dark arches above them that were thicker than she preferred but was entirely too lazy to ever change. She called them her darling caterpillars. Neil snorted softly into her hair just remembering the face she made when she tried to make them move.

While she carried her father with her wherever she went, she had their grandmother’s maiden name. Afraid that any child that had his name would be taken from her, Mary had called her new baby Dermott and left her paternity a mystery for the ages.

Mary had a tendency to bring thugs and criminals into her bed. There was no better example than Neil’s own father. The only good thing the man had ever done was have the decency to die when his young wife had attempted to poison him—the poison hadn’t worked though. Neil could thank a peanut allergy for that.

Dani’s father had been the only exception. A truly good man in the sea of shit men their mother cycled through like they would save her. Eric Wilds had been a shop owner that flirted with Mary whenever she dragged her kids in to get milk and cigarettes. Neil was certain that if Eric knew that Danielle existed, he would do whatever it took to come back and care for her, but he hadn’t left a forwarding address when he had gone home to care for his ailing mother. In that sense, Neil hated his mother for dying. She robbed his sister of the only decent parent she could have had. He couldn’t be too man, though. He loved his little-mismatched family.

When Laila woke, she would bitch at Neil for trying to snuggle her. Insisting that she wasn’t afraid of the dark anymore, but as Neil slowly succumbed to sleep, he realized that it was more for reassuring himself. His dreams had been plagued with assholes with nice teeth and muddy brown eyes. Neil was too tired to wax poetic about eyes. He had to work another double again in a few hours. He didn’t know how he was going to stay on his feet.

Neil woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and if that were the only thing to go wrong today, the day would have been a breeze. Neil woke up on the wrong side of the bed in the sense that everything that could go wrong was going wrong. External things, of course, the day started off with the washer breaking, which led to an epic fight with Laila over them wearing dirty clothes to work.

She went off on him about losing hours at work for not wearing the right outfit, and Neil understood, he really did, but he’s also frustrated because he was working a double and then going to his second fucking job and he was going to be in dirty ass clothes all day.

“What do you want me to do about it? There’s literally nothing I could do. Maybe if you didn’t wait until the last minute to do your laundry, like always, then this wouldn’t be a problem,” Neil shouted.

Laila leveled him with a glare. “Okay, I know you like to be on some fuckshit in the morning, but this is not my fault. Goodbye.” She slammed the door behind her because of course, that’s how his day was going to go.

Dani walked in and she was usually the peacekeeper but today she had to decide to give Neil a piece of her mind. “Where do you get off yelling at Laila like that? Do you know what she does to help out, like cut her some slack would you?”

Neil didn’t want to go off on his baby sister, but also, “Do either of you notice what I do around here? Why should I cut her some slack when no one ever fucking cuts me slack?”

“I’ve literally been on Care, but it’s hard to get a job because I don’t have the money for a premium account, so like half of the people can’t even see my messages. I’m trying really hard to make it so you don’t have to deal with me, so you don’t have to do as much!”

It was supposed to be reassuring but all Neil could hear was: we don’t need you, if you tried harder, we’d need you even less. It’s not what he needed to hear because internally, he was lower than sewer level.

Dani rolls her eyes when he didn’t respond. “Whatever, do you have money for the bus?”

“I only have enough for me.”

“Of course not, I don’t know why I asked.”

For some reason, Dani slamming the door hurt him more than it did the doorframe.

Neil went to put on his dirty clothes and he pulled the receipt with the asshole’s number out of a pair of slacks that were lying on the floor. He told himself it wasn’t a big deal, it was to keep it from littering his room. It was this reassuring weight in his pocket and he hated himself for it because it wasn’t real—it was just a piece of paper, but it gave him this tiny bit of something warm in his chest. It was just a small private thing. Sometimes you needed to know that someone was thinking of you, even if you weren’t necessarily sure if you wanted anyone to think of you at all.

He almost missed the bus, because god had a sense of humor. He rode the bus to work and he was so tired, he just sat there and thought about how he was in his twenties but literally felt like he was in his sixties and looking forward to retirement. It was just one of those days where everything was seeping in, everything he had kept buried since before Mary died.

Tired and done with the day, Neil walked into Eden’s, late, feeling weird because he was so used to pushing down all of his feelings and they were all somehow at the forefront today. If it were a normal day, he would shove them down, deep down, busying himself with work and his girls, and didn’t that suck because the girls were going to leave him soon. He spent all of this time thinking of them and making sure they were reaching for something better, that he forgot to strive for something better, too.

So sue him if he brushed his fingers against that receipt throughout the day. Nothing would come of it, but hey, it was a bit of an ego boost or just something tangible he could brush his fingers against when he was feeling particularly shitty about himself.

It was a bad head day and he was tired. The morning rush turned into the lunch rush and Neil forgot to stop to have lunch somewhere in between, so now he’s hungry with his self-esteem shot through the floor. It didn’t help that Kevin was in and was a dick to him, but hey, he only had two mini breakdowns in the freezer so he was counting that as a win. Fuck Mary for leaving him to do her fucking job. He was so angry with Mary, his life, his girls, and he was guilty as fuck for being angry with his girls.

And as if the day couldn’t get any shitter, asshole with the nice teeth came in as the lunch rush was ending.

Neil went off on him, because of course he did, and if it was more than a little spiteful, well, the dickwad could buy himself a better day since he was richer than god or some shit. Neil wanted Andrew to yell back, but the man just takes it. Occasionally, he’d ask Neil a question or two to keep him going and there was minimal snark and somewhere down the line, Neil just sat down across from him. Every once in awhile he started yelling again, but he was mostly venting about his life and Andrew was listening. Why was he listening? What had Neil done to deserve that?

So he asked him, “I didn’t even text you. Why are you listening to anything I have to say?”

Andrew was sitting there, suit slightly rumpled. “I’m just as surprised as you are, honestly. You’re just interesting to me, and it doesn’t hurt that you’re not hard to look at. I was supposed to be at work for a meeting about why I canceled my trip to Japan forty minutes ago, but I can’t find it in me to want to get up.”

Neil blushed and blustered. He looked for an emotion and could only find anger, so he chastised Andrew.

“Will you please let me take you out?”

“I have work tonight.”

“Will you text me?”

“I don’t have a phone.”

“When do you work again?”

“I work every day?”

“Okay, I have to go.”

“Yeah, you do that bitch. Go to work with your hooky playing ass.” Neil hadn’t felt alive in so long.


End file.
